The Janjua or Janjhua is a Punjabi Rajput clan discovered predominantly in the Pothohar Plateau of Pakistani Punjab, but also in the states of Punjab and Haryana in India.[1][2]

Jāti Rajput[3][4]

Religions Islam Hinduism

Languages Punjabi

Nation Pakistan

Region Punjab

Ethnicity Punjabi

Feudal title Malik, Raja

Historical past and origin

Origin

The Janjuas had engaged in a protracted-working wrestle for sovereignty over the Salt Range.[5]

The history of this region (the Salt Range) from the thirteenth century onward had been a sickening file of wars between Janjua and Gakhars for political ascendancy.[6][7]

The name “Janjua” originates from the Sanskrit word meaning “warrior” or “brave.[8]

Mughal period

In the 16th century, the Mughal Emperor Humayun was usurped by the Pashtun king Sher Shah Suri, who constructed the Rohtas Fort in Punjab to test Humayun’s entry into Hindustan, and likewise to keep a test on the native tribes together with Gakhars as well as Janjuas.[9][10][need citation to confirm]

Sikh period

The growth of the Sikh Empire, spearheaded by Ranjit Singh, was met with a rebellion by the Janjua Sultan of Watli, Sultan Fateh Muhammad Khan. A six-month siege of Kusuk Fort in Watli followed[11] and this was ended when the inhabitants ran wanting water.[12] The Kala Khan branch of Rawalpindi Janjuas fortunes had been additionally eclipsed by the rise of the Sikh Empire.[13]

British interval

By the point the British Raj took an interest in conquering the Sikhs in 1848-49, they had been joined by opportunistic tribes such as the Janjua, Gakhars who had lost control of their centuries-outdated ancestral kingdoms to the imperial Sikh Empire and sought revenge. Tan Tai Yong says that “In addition to being impressed with their track document, the British saw in them, with their conventional and historic enmity towards the Sikhs, an efficient counterpoise towards the latter.”[14]

The Janjua rebellion against the Sikh Empire was a political rebellion, as the Janjua have been initially keen allies to the Sukerchakia Misl.[15]

Throughout the nineteenth century, they have been listed as a martial race. [16] During this interval, attributable to their high aristocratic status, the Janjuas refused to serve in any regiment that was not commanded by either a Janjua or one other commander of equal social standing. [16] This preference was honoured by the British when selecting regiments for them. [16]

Notable individuals

Tikka Khan, Pakistan army basic who served because the Navy Governor of East Pakistan in 1971 and later became the first Chief of Army employees from 1972 to 1976, admired in Pakistan as the Victor of the Rann of Kutch

Asif Nawaz Janjua, Chief of employees for the Pakistan Military from 1991 until his poisoning and dying in 1993

Iftikhar Janjua, major common of the Pakistan Army, fought and died in the Battle of Chamb

Amir Gulistan Janjua, brigadier general of the Pakistan Army, Governor of North West Frontier Province, Ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal, Saudi Arabia & United Arab Emirates.

Saif Ali Janjua, a Lance Naik Platoon Commander within the 1947 Indo-Pakistani Warfare who inflicted heavy losses on the enemy and repulsed ventures on his post, posthumously awarded Nishan-e-Haider

Muhammad Hussain Janjua, Military Soldier who fought in the Zafarwal Sector of the 1971 Indo-Pakistani Battle, destroyed sixteen Indian tanks on a reconnaissance mission or 20% of India’s tank losses within the 1971 war and was posthumously awarded Nishan-e-Haider for highest Military Gallantry

Altaf Gauhar, mental and author near Pakistan’s navy dictator Common Ayub Khan

Raja Muhammad Afzal Khan, Senator, he was elected greater than a number of occasions as Member National Assembly of Pakistan from Jhelum.

Malik Iqbal Mehdi Khan, politician he was provincial minister of Punjab province & elected greater than multiple instances as Member National Assembly of Pakistan from Pind Dadan Khan.

Zaheer-ul-Islam, (Urdu: ﻇﻬﻴﺮ ﺍﻹﺳﻼﻡ) is a retired Lieutenant-Normal who served as the twentieth Director General of the ISI.

Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, Islamic scholar

Amir Khan, British-Pakistani boxer, his paternal grandfather Lal Khan Janjua was within the Pakistan Military

Amna Nawaz, Pakistani-American broadcast journalist and a co-anchor of the PBS NewsHour, her uncle was Asif Nawaz Janjua.

Shah Nawaz Khan, (January 1914 – 9 December 1983) was an Indian politician who served as a Basic within the Indian Nationwide Army (INA) throughout World Struggle II.

Adam Azim, British Pakistani boxing prospect

Hamzah Sheeraz, British Pakistani boxer

Tehmina Janjua, Overseas Secretary of Pakistan, 2017 to 2019

References

^ Jones, Philip Edward; Jones, Philip (2003). The Pakistan Folks’s Occasion: Rise to Energy. Oxford University Press. pp. 377, 378, 379. ISBN 978-0-19-579966-8.

^ Khan, Hussain (1990). “Kuh-i-Jud and the Janjuas: From Raja Mal to Babur”. Journal of Central Asia. Thirteen (1). Islamabad: Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations, Quaid-i-Azam College: 73-88. ISSN 2959-4715.

^ Saleem, Muhammad; Ahmed, Raja Qaiser (2020). “Conceptualizing Democracy in Pakistan: A Rural Perspective”. XLI (1): 1-16 – by way of ResearchGate. Pakistan Journal of History and Tradition.

^ Khan, Hussain (1991). “Janjuas, their Early Life”. Ancient Pakistan. 7: 178-185.

^ Journal of the Pakistan Historical Society, Volume 54, Issues 1-2. Pakistan Historic Society. 2006.

^ Bakshi, S. R. (1995). Superior Historical past of Medieval India. Anmol Publ. p. 142. ISBN 9788174880284.

^ “Rajpoot Gotain by mohammad afzal khan”. Rekhta.

^ Chander, Prof Suresh (9 December 2025). Kashmir Sale That By no means Was: How a Rs. 75 lakhs cost turned a fable that rocked Kashmir. Notion Press. ISBN 979-8-90054-268-3.

^ The Life and Instances of Humāyūn by Ishwari Prasad, Published by Orient Longmans, 1956, p. 36

^ Temples of Koh-e-Jud & Thar: Proceedings of the Seminar on Shahiya Temples of the Salt Vary, Held in Lahore, Pakistan by Kamil Khan Mumtaz, Siddiq-a-Akbar, Publ Anjuman Mimaran, 1989, p. 8

^ Stein, Marc Aurel (1936). Archaeological reconnaissances in north-western India and south-japanese Iran. London. p. 46.cite guide: CS1 maint: location missing writer (hyperlink)

^ The Land of the Five Rivers and Sindh: Sketches, Historical and Descriptive David Ross, Publ.Languages Dept., Punjab, 1970, p. 153

^ Talbot, Ian (1996). Khizr Tiwana, the Punjab Unionist Get together and the Partition of India. Psychology Press. pp. 21-22. ISBN 978-0-7007-0427-9.

^ Tan, Tai Yong (2005). The Garrison State: The Military, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab 1849-1947. Sage. pp. 61-62. ISBN 978-0-7619-3336-6.

^ Singh, Wazir (1990). Sikhism and Punjab’s Heritage. Publication Bureau, Punjabi University. p. 160.

^ a b c Tan, Tai Yong (2005). The Garrison State: The Navy, Government and Society in Colonial Punjab 1849-1947. Sage. p. 75. ISBN 978-0-7619-3336-6.

Ethnic teams, social groups and tribes of the Punjabis

Agrawal

Bansal

Arains

Rayeen

Mian

Mehr

Kardar

Ramay

Bhutto

Yaduvanshi Ahirs

Ahirs

Ghosi

Hindu Ghosi

Aharwar

Ranghar

Scheduled Castes

Ad-Dharmi

Balmiki

Bazigar

Chamar

Khatik

Mazhabi Sikh

Mochi

Mirasi

Nat

Ramdasia Sikh

Ravidassia

Gakhars

Kayani

Gurjars

Bhati

Baisla

Khatana

Jats

Aulakh

Bajwa

Bhutta

Buttar

Chaudhary

Cheema

Chohan

Dhankhar

Deol

Gill

Grewal

Kahlon

Kharal

Khokhar

Maan

Malhi

Noon

Ranjha

Randhawa

Sahota

Sahu

Sandhu

Sekhon

Sial

Sidhu

Sipra

Uppal

Virk

Warraich

Wyne

Labana

Khatris

Anand

Bhambri

Bhandari

Bhasin

Bindra

Chadha

Chopra

Dhawan

Duggal

Gambhir

Ghai

Gujral

Kakkar

Kandhari

Kapoor

Khanna

Khattar

Khetarpal

Khosla

Khukhrain

Khullar

Madan

Madhok

Mahendru

Makan

Malhotra

Mehra

Mehrotra

Nagpal

Nanda

Narula

Nayyar

Nijhawan

Oberoi

Puri

Roshan

Sabharwal

Sahni

Sehgal

Seth

Sethi

Sodhi

Talwar

Tandon

Thapar

Trehan

Vadera

Vadra

Vohra

Mohyal Brahmin

Bali

Bhimwal

Chhibber

Datt

Lau

Mohan

Vaid

Rajputs

Jarral

Mair Rajput

Bhatti

Rathore

Chauhan (Khandowya)

Minhas

Jaswal

Jamwal

Rana

Raja

Wattoo

Tarkhans

Panesar

Sohal

Others

Arora

Bagga

Bakarwal

Bania

Dogar

Kamboj

Kumhar

Saini

Sansi

Sayyid

Shaikh

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Retrieved from “https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Janjua&oldid=1355310114”

Rajput clans

Jat clans of Punjab

Social groups of Haryana

Surnames of Hindu origin

Surnames of Indian origin

Social groups of Jammu and Kashmir

History of Punjab

Rajput clans of Punjab

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This page was final edited on 21 May 2026, at 03:33 (UTC).

Janjua